Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona: A harsh lesson to retain…
Full-time: Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona
Goals: Neymar (3′)
Match date: October 25, 2014
Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu
Competition:Â La Liga
Barcelona line-up: Bravo, Mathieu, Piqué, Mascherano, Daniel Alves, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez.
Barcelona‘s much-anticipated visit to the Santiago Bernabéu didn’t go the way most Barça fans expected, since a stronger Real Madrid ended up managing to mark their superiority through a 3-1 win. The Merengues had to come back from a one goal deficit after Neymar‘s early goal in the first half, but as soon as they settled in the game, Luis Enrique‘s men got virtually handcuffed.
We finally had the chance to see the new attacking trio debuting for Barça, with Luis Suárez joining Neymar and Messi in the Blaugranas attack. The Uruguayan even had an important role in the build-up for the opening goal, since it was him who passed the ball to Neymar Jr, moments before the Brazilian got to beat Iker Casillas with a perfect low strike from a privileged position. The goal happened right in the 3rd minute of the Clasico, making it one of the fastest goals ever for Barça, in games against their rivals Real Madrid.
However, the hosts would wake up later in the first half and the alarm clock was triggered by the usual suspect, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star converted a penalty-kick for his team to draw things level at the Bernabéu and by doing that, he also made sure that Bravo‘s unbeaten record would finally come to an end. The Chilean goalkeeper was on a 8-game clean sheet streak, but Ronaldo‘s goal seems to have broken a special spell and opened flood gates for more goals to follow in the game…
Shortly after the half-time break, Pepe would deliver the Merengues their first lead in the afternoon, through a great header near the far post. The Portuguese centre-back collided with Daniel Alves in his movement inside Barça‘s box, but somehow managed to keep his balance and was happy to see he was given the space he needed to hit the target and set the score in 2-1 to Real Madrid.
This Clasico fate was decided when Karim Benzema scored the third goal for Real Madrid, which happened when Mascherano and Iniesta lost the possession near the halfway line, allowing for the hosts to go on a fast counter, just like they love doing. The ball was passed around between Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo and James RodrÃguez before falling to Karim Benzema when the Frenchman was already stepping in inside Barça‘s box, and the 26-year old forward wouldn’t miss his chance to deliver his opponents the final blow and set final score in 3-1 to Real Madrid.
Sources: fcbarcelona.com / theguardian.com